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Our Narrow Hiding Places: A Novel
For fans of All the Light We Cannot See and The Nightingale: an elderly woman recounts her Dutch family’s survival during the final years of Nazi occupation, shedding new light on old secrets that rippled through subsequent generations.
Eighty-year-old Mieke Geborn’s life is one of quiet routine. Widowed for many years, she enjoys the view from her home on the New Jersey shore, visits with friends, and tai chi at the local retirement community. But when her beloved grandson, Will, and his wife, Teru, show up for a visit, things are soon upended. Their marriage is threatening to unravel, and Will has questions for his grandmother—questions about family secrets that have been lost for decades and are now finally rising to the surface.
But telling Will the truth involves returning to the past, and to Mieke’s childhood in coastal Holland. There, in the last years of World War II, she survived the Hunger Winter, a brutal season when food and heat were cut off and thousands of Dutch citizens starved. Her memories weave together childhood magic and the madness of history, and carry readers from the windy beaches of The Hague to the dark cells of a concentration camp, through the bends of eel-filled rivers, and, finally, to the story of Will’s father, absent since Will’s childhood.
Our Narrow Hiding Places is a sweeping story of survival and of the terrible cost of war—and a reminder that sometimes the traumas we inherit come along with a resilience we never imagined.
Eighty-year-old Mieke Geborn’s life is one of quiet routine. Widowed for many years, she enjoys the view from her home on the New Jersey shore, visits with friends, and tai chi at the local retirement community. But when her beloved grandson, Will, and his wife, Teru, show up for a visit, things are soon upended. Their marriage is threatening to unravel, and Will has questions for his grandmother—questions about family secrets that have been lost for decades and are now finally rising to the surface.
But telling Will the truth involves returning to the past, and to Mieke’s childhood in coastal Holland. There, in the last years of World War II, she survived the Hunger Winter, a brutal season when food and heat were cut off and thousands of Dutch citizens starved. Her memories weave together childhood magic and the madness of history, and carry readers from the windy beaches of The Hague to the dark cells of a concentration camp, through the bends of eel-filled rivers, and, finally, to the story of Will’s father, absent since Will’s childhood.
Our Narrow Hiding Places is a sweeping story of survival and of the terrible cost of war—and a reminder that sometimes the traumas we inherit come along with a resilience we never imagined.
1 pages, Audio CD
First published August 13, 2024
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9534 people want to read
About the author
Kristopher Jansma
6 books370 followersKristopher Jansma is the author of the forthcoming novel Our Narrow Hiding Places (Ecco, 8/13) as well as the book Revisionaries: What We Can Learn from the Lost, Unfinished, and Just Plain Bad Work of Great Writers (Quirk, 10/15).
His previous novels are Why We Came to the City and The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards. He is the winner of the Sherwood Anderson Foundation Fiction Award and a Pushcart Prize, as well as the recipient of an honorable mention for the PEN/Hemingway Award. Kristopher is an associate professor of English and the director of the creative writing program at SUNY New Paltz.
More at http://www.kristopherjansma.com/
His previous novels are Why We Came to the City and The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards. He is the winner of the Sherwood Anderson Foundation Fiction Award and a Pushcart Prize, as well as the recipient of an honorable mention for the PEN/Hemingway Award. Kristopher is an associate professor of English and the director of the creative writing program at SUNY New Paltz.
More at http://www.kristopherjansma.com/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 177 reviews
June 2, 2024
Mieke is an 80 year old woman living on the Jersey shore. When she suffers a fall, her grandson comes to visit. While he is dealing with some of his own demons, Mieke shares the family history in World War II torn Holland. Focusing primarily on the time known as the “Hunger Winter” when, as a child, there was no heat, no food and thousands died of starvation, she recounts those devastating years and the effects on family, friends, and acquaintances.
Beautifully written, heartbreaking, yet hopeful, the story has two timelines; the 1940s in the Netherlands and more modern times in New Jersey. There are additional chapters from a Dutch book that had been recently discovered by her neighbor, a professor specializing in Holocaust literature. The provides additional history that is narrated by eels. Yes, eels! But, it works!
Intergenerational trauma is a recurrent theme as it is revealed what people went through and had to do to withstand the atrocities of war. This is a tale of horror, defiance, survival, resilience, and also one of never forgetting.
Thanks to #netgalley and @eccobooks for the DRC.
Beautifully written, heartbreaking, yet hopeful, the story has two timelines; the 1940s in the Netherlands and more modern times in New Jersey. There are additional chapters from a Dutch book that had been recently discovered by her neighbor, a professor specializing in Holocaust literature. The provides additional history that is narrated by eels. Yes, eels! But, it works!
Intergenerational trauma is a recurrent theme as it is revealed what people went through and had to do to withstand the atrocities of war. This is a tale of horror, defiance, survival, resilience, and also one of never forgetting.
Thanks to #netgalley and @eccobooks for the DRC.
June 27, 2025
Our Narrow Hiding Places by Kristopher Jansma follows a group of friends who grew up together and reconnect as adults, dealing with old secrets, grief, and the ways their lives drifted apart. The author explored complicated friendships and what used to be. The writing was poetic in places, and I thought the characters felt real, even when they made frustrating choices. Some parts moved slowly, but overall it was an emotional look at how we carry the past with us.
unfinished
October 21, 2024I loved Jansma's two previous novels, The Unchangeable Spots of Leopards and Why We Came to the City, but this felt like he was trying to be Anthony Doerr (a mashup of All the Light We Cannot See and Cloud Cuckoo Land) or Tom Rachman (The Imposters). Having eels narrate part of the book was kind of cute but mostly silly. It seems that Jansma has lost his way a little bit; I hope by the next one he's figured out the author he wants to be.
April 7, 2024
Kristopher Jansma is a careful writer, demonstrating his facility with language and his dexterity which probably makes his students enjoy his classes. He also has a talent for incorporating elements of his own life, and in this case, experiences of his grandmother's when she was coming of age during the hunger year in Holland during the second world war. Personal remembrances are important while still available via oral history to shout down holocaust deniers, and this presents a fresh angle on that subject just when you thought there couldn't be any more. Told in two time lines, Our Narrow Hiding Places weaves immersive reading with a Greek chorus of eels, of all things, giving this an original style.
August 4, 2024
'Our Narrow Hiding Places' by Kristopher Jansma is historical fiction at its best - about WWII and the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The novel takes place in two timelines, one during the war, concentrating on the Hunger Winter in Holland, and in the present time through the eyes of 80 year old widowed Mieke who survived the occupation. There is a Greek chorus of eels interspersed between each chapter. I believe they represent the intractable passage of time from the eyes of a species that has seen it all. Not quite cynical but definitely not optimistic, the eels serve as a touchstone for the passage of time and the irrevocable impact of history.
Eighty year old Mieke is taking a walk near her home on the Jersey shore when she falls outside. She can't get up and is worried about anyone finding her. She has a rich life being with friends and taking Yoga classes. She did not take her cell phone with her so she is in the hands of 'the kindness of strangers'.
Mieke has a surprise visit by her grandson Will and his wife Teru. They are obviously having some marital issues and Teru is planning to go to Japan to study for a while. Will is very interested in his past, especially Mieke's son, his father, who disappeared when Will was a young boy. No one in the family ever talks about him and Will is determined to find out what happened.
The book is well-written with nicely developed characters. As I was not familiar with the Dutch occupation or the Hunger Winter, I learned a lot as I enjoyed this wonderful book.
Mieke shares events of her childhood in Nazi occupied Holland and the terror and starvation she lived with. The Hunger Winter was the worst year of the occupation and she thought she'd die of starvation. She is reticent to talk to Will about her son, Will's father, but gradually the secrets come out.
As a Clinical Social Worker, I was extremely pleased with the way that Jansma describes and deals with mental illness and intergenerational trauma. He is right on the mark and, combined with Mieke's memories, Will's searching, and his own memories from childhood, a portrait of his father is clearly presented.
I want to thank NetGalley and Ecco for an advanced review copy of this book.
Eighty year old Mieke is taking a walk near her home on the Jersey shore when she falls outside. She can't get up and is worried about anyone finding her. She has a rich life being with friends and taking Yoga classes. She did not take her cell phone with her so she is in the hands of 'the kindness of strangers'.
Mieke has a surprise visit by her grandson Will and his wife Teru. They are obviously having some marital issues and Teru is planning to go to Japan to study for a while. Will is very interested in his past, especially Mieke's son, his father, who disappeared when Will was a young boy. No one in the family ever talks about him and Will is determined to find out what happened.
The book is well-written with nicely developed characters. As I was not familiar with the Dutch occupation or the Hunger Winter, I learned a lot as I enjoyed this wonderful book.
Mieke shares events of her childhood in Nazi occupied Holland and the terror and starvation she lived with. The Hunger Winter was the worst year of the occupation and she thought she'd die of starvation. She is reticent to talk to Will about her son, Will's father, but gradually the secrets come out.
As a Clinical Social Worker, I was extremely pleased with the way that Jansma describes and deals with mental illness and intergenerational trauma. He is right on the mark and, combined with Mieke's memories, Will's searching, and his own memories from childhood, a portrait of his father is clearly presented.
I want to thank NetGalley and Ecco for an advanced review copy of this book.
May 4, 2025
DNF. It didn’t maintain my interest
July 28, 2024
3.5. Another report. I’m on the fence with this one. The writing is beautiful, really classy and top quality. That got me excited about it. Personally I loved eel POV and thought the fable aspect running through the story was a lovely touch. The first two thirds from Mieke’s childhood are really compelling and great, but I had my doubts from the get go of the modern day perspectives of both her and Will. I just wasn’t sure how it was going to tie into the narrative in a cohesive way. And as I got to the end of the book those doubts remained and it never really came together for me. It was a shame, after the beautiful creation of the characters and their history it just didn’t take it anywhere. The ending, especially Mieke’s boyfriend arc, just felt quite flat and random in the end.
Edit: For everyone asking about eel POV I don’t know what to tell you. There was a choric voice of Dutch eels and they commented on events and told some stories. I found that it worked for me.
Edit: For everyone asking about eel POV I don’t know what to tell you. There was a choric voice of Dutch eels and they commented on events and told some stories. I found that it worked for me.
May 6, 2024
I don't read a lot of historical fictions but when I do, I want to invest time in a really good one and Our Narrow Hiding Places by Kristopher Jansma didn't disappoint! This one was the Dutch take on the Nazi occupation. This was about survival and family and secrets.
This is told in the present and the past and the story revolves around Mieke Geborn. At the start of the story she is an 80 year old woman who is widowed and lives a routine life. She was walking home from a friend's one night with a book that was written during the "Hunger Winter" but from the perspective of Eels. Yes, you heard that correctly...Eels. The author is unnamed and she has the feeling she knows the stories these "eels" are telling. But before she gets far in the book she falls and has to be rescued by a neighbor, Giancarlo, who befriends her.
Then she gets a visit from her Grandson and his wife. The Grandson is going through his own issues but needed an escape. He starts asking questions about his past. So his Grandmother, Mieke, starts telling him stories from her time when she was a young girl and how she survived the Nazi occupation. They are horrifying stories of how she lived on a tiny piece of bread and a half a beet for a day, sometimes more. And all the things she had to do to survive. Mieke would often have to use her imagination and stories just so she could survive her situation. So she passed these stories down to her grandson, Will.
The story goes back and forth in time to Meike and her grandson, Will, and what they both experienced and how it affects them today. This one compares to All The Light We Cannot See and has a The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah feel to it. I've read quite a few Nazi occupation stories but not as original as this. I loved the story telling eels part of the book. This is a slow burn type of book. It took me a minute to get into this one but then I had to know what was going to happen. The author did a great job of making me care about the characters, even a few minor ones.
Thank you to NetGalley, Author Kristopher Jansma, and Ecco Publishing for providing me with this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. This book releases 8/13/24.
Posted on Book Nook Buzz
This is told in the present and the past and the story revolves around Mieke Geborn. At the start of the story she is an 80 year old woman who is widowed and lives a routine life. She was walking home from a friend's one night with a book that was written during the "Hunger Winter" but from the perspective of Eels. Yes, you heard that correctly...Eels. The author is unnamed and she has the feeling she knows the stories these "eels" are telling. But before she gets far in the book she falls and has to be rescued by a neighbor, Giancarlo, who befriends her.
Then she gets a visit from her Grandson and his wife. The Grandson is going through his own issues but needed an escape. He starts asking questions about his past. So his Grandmother, Mieke, starts telling him stories from her time when she was a young girl and how she survived the Nazi occupation. They are horrifying stories of how she lived on a tiny piece of bread and a half a beet for a day, sometimes more. And all the things she had to do to survive. Mieke would often have to use her imagination and stories just so she could survive her situation. So she passed these stories down to her grandson, Will.
The story goes back and forth in time to Meike and her grandson, Will, and what they both experienced and how it affects them today. This one compares to All The Light We Cannot See and has a The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah feel to it. I've read quite a few Nazi occupation stories but not as original as this. I loved the story telling eels part of the book. This is a slow burn type of book. It took me a minute to get into this one but then I had to know what was going to happen. The author did a great job of making me care about the characters, even a few minor ones.
Thank you to NetGalley, Author Kristopher Jansma, and Ecco Publishing for providing me with this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. This book releases 8/13/24.
Posted on Book Nook Buzz
January 28, 2025
This is a WWII novel that takes place in costal Holland. Again, these novels give us different pictures of the war, as every place had their own unique experiences. This novel explores the Hunger Winter of starvation that ended in May, 1945.
September 13, 2024
This was an excellent novel based on a real but little reported event of WWII, the Hunger Winter, in which the people of the Netherlands were denied liberation following the failed Allied Market Garden operation. During the winter of 1944 the people of the Netherlands starved and nearly died en masse. This novel is about this winter and what it took for the people to survive.
One aspect of the novel that I found fascinating was the discussion about epigenetics, which is the science surrounding inherited gene traits obtained through the events in the lives of our ancestors. For instance, succeeding generations experienced high levels of depression and other conditions due to the starvation their ancestors experienced during the Hunger Winter. The events of those years are literally imprinted in the genes of their successors.
This is a beautifully written novel that I would recommend to anyone that enjoys historical fiction dealing with WWII.
One aspect of the novel that I found fascinating was the discussion about epigenetics, which is the science surrounding inherited gene traits obtained through the events in the lives of our ancestors. For instance, succeeding generations experienced high levels of depression and other conditions due to the starvation their ancestors experienced during the Hunger Winter. The events of those years are literally imprinted in the genes of their successors.
This is a beautifully written novel that I would recommend to anyone that enjoys historical fiction dealing with WWII.
September 1, 2024
Eels were creepy…I gave up and didn’t finish
October 21, 2024
this was average - parts were hard to follow, but that could have been the writing style. i didn’t fully understand the whole “eel” plot line. an okay read.
March 19, 2025
The story is filled with twist and turns and kept me interested through most of it! I recommend it.
September 5, 2024
Story of the years of WWII when Dutch people starved due to lack of food and resources as told by the the author whose grandmother survived those years.
August 15, 2025
excellent writing style
August 19, 2024
This book has been recommended on many lists and I picked it up. It is beautifully written and chapters alternate between modern day USA and The Netherlands at the end of WWII. There are also some chapters from the point of view of eels.
The book revolves around Mieke Geborn who was a young girl during WWII in The Netherlands. We get her point of view during the Hunger Winter, but also in modern time living at the Jersey Shore and how this time may have affected her family going forward. Her grandson, Will comes for a visit and i she finally tells him of that terrible time. There really is a lot going on in this short book.
The book revolves around Mieke Geborn who was a young girl during WWII in The Netherlands. We get her point of view during the Hunger Winter, but also in modern time living at the Jersey Shore and how this time may have affected her family going forward. Her grandson, Will comes for a visit and i she finally tells him of that terrible time. There really is a lot going on in this short book.
February 7, 2024
Our Narrow Hiding Places follows Mieke, an eighty year old widow, as she reflects on her family’s survival during the Nazi occupation. Even after reading several WWII era books, there were still many things I learned about life in Holland during this difficult time.
Although I was very interested in Mieke’s childhood days, the modern-day story did not capture my attention nearly as much. It felt disjointed and ending without much resolution.
**I received this book from Ecco in exchange for an honest review.**
Although I was very interested in Mieke’s childhood days, the modern-day story did not capture my attention nearly as much. It felt disjointed and ending without much resolution.
**I received this book from Ecco in exchange for an honest review.**
September 5, 2024
A beautiful, poetic tale. I can't even properly explain all the ways this story moved me so. But I'm crying as I finish this. Thank you, Kristopher Jansma, for sharing this story - and the hope of the eels - with us.
January 27, 2024
ARC Review Time!
Our Narrow Hiding Places by Kristopher Jansma
Very grateful for the advanced copy provided by Ecco Books through NetGalley! All opinions are my own.
Our Narrow Hiding Places follows the life of Mieke Geborn both as a girl fighting to survive with her family during the Hunger Winter (the last months of WWII) and as an 80 year old woman who is doing her best to navigate the memories of her past and her current family relationships.
Jansma does a wonderful job of describing how intergenerational trauma can impact the lives of those whose ancestors experienced the unthinkable. The author also emphasizes mental health issues and how they impact people throughout their lives. There are also portions of this story that is told by eels (yes, you read that correctly); this, along with the Dutch folklore spoken of throughout the story, adds an almost magical element while not entering the realm of fantasy.
I really enjoyed this book and appreciated reading a historical fiction novel set in WWII (which I tend to enjoy) that is from a perspective that I have not seen before, being set in coastal Holland. Jansma’s style of writing was pleasant to read and made the different time perspectives easy to follow. If you liked All The Light We Cannot See and similar books, this is a book for you!!
Our Narrow Hiding Places by Kristopher Jansma
Very grateful for the advanced copy provided by Ecco Books through NetGalley! All opinions are my own.
Our Narrow Hiding Places follows the life of Mieke Geborn both as a girl fighting to survive with her family during the Hunger Winter (the last months of WWII) and as an 80 year old woman who is doing her best to navigate the memories of her past and her current family relationships.
Jansma does a wonderful job of describing how intergenerational trauma can impact the lives of those whose ancestors experienced the unthinkable. The author also emphasizes mental health issues and how they impact people throughout their lives. There are also portions of this story that is told by eels (yes, you read that correctly); this, along with the Dutch folklore spoken of throughout the story, adds an almost magical element while not entering the realm of fantasy.
I really enjoyed this book and appreciated reading a historical fiction novel set in WWII (which I tend to enjoy) that is from a perspective that I have not seen before, being set in coastal Holland. Jansma’s style of writing was pleasant to read and made the different time perspectives easy to follow. If you liked All The Light We Cannot See and similar books, this is a book for you!!
December 16, 2024
This book was recommended to me by my Granddaughter. She has developed a love of Holocaust books, just like me. This was a very unique book. I haven’t read much about the Dutch part in the war. That made it very interesting. The war reached so many places & the suffering was so hard. I loved how Mieke & her family stuck together & helped others. Mieke & Rob’s relationship was so long lasting. Mieke’s sufferings even reached down to her Grandson. A sad book, but that is the story of the Holocaust. I will never understand how Nazi’s can do what the did to others.
Read
November 28, 2024DNF
January 12, 2025
Beautiful story telling. Generations of lived experiences intricately woven together. A compelling commentary on intergenerational trauma. Loved it.
February 8, 2025
3.5. I felt like this had the potential to be a 4/4.5 but I inconsistent pacing would take me out of the story from time to time.
August 27, 2024
Novel based on true events of the early childhood of the author’s grandmother who survived Nazi occupation of her hometown in Holland. We learn about the Hunger Winter when thousands of Dutch citizens starved to death due to atrocities committed by the Nazis.
December 14, 2024
This was just the book I needed when I read it--intriguing, compelling, satisfying.
August 24, 2024
Mieke Geborn and her best friend, Rob, barely survived the Hunger Winter of 1945 Holland. Nazi occupation began as merely a disruption for their lives but, as the years dragged on, became a nightmare. Mieke and Rob did survive and married years later, she is now an 80 year old widow living on the New Jersey coast. They had one son, who had one son, and it is this grandson, Will, who leads her to relive and retell the events of many years ago. Thus we read a Holocaust story that is somewhat different from others- how the suffering brought on by the Nazis affected the Dutch people, Jewish and non Jewish alike.
Will is in crisis, his relationship with his wife is unraveling, and he is beginning to question his sanity as he remembers his father's absence and possible breakdown. Only Mieke can answer his questions, and help him to understand the legacy that her experiences have brought to the family. Will his own future children suffer mental illness as well, all because of generational trauma, and will he lose his marriage because of it?
This is a compelling and heartbreaking story. The events of the Hunger Winter are described in stark detail and it is both difficult to believe that humans could inflict such pain and torture and that 8 year old children could survive it. I knew about the starvation in Holland, but this novel brought it into focus as seen through they eyes of a young child. The contemporary parts of the book, told in separate chapters about Will and Mieke, brought up the possibility that the traumas experienced by one's grandparents could carry down through the generations with dire consequences. Both aspects of the book were equally good.
There was a third part of the book that I felt less affection for- the sections of a book that Mieke was translating from the Dutch for a friend. Told by the eels that lived around her town, it had a fairy tale quality that I never quite connected with. It was a "found" text that was thought to have been written by a person in a concentration camp near her town, a place that it was believed Rob's father had been sent when he was captured by the Nazis. While actual eels did figure in Mieke's story, I thought that the fantasy sections could have been skipped. But maybe I need to re-read those parts to truly get the message they were conveying.
All in all I recommend this book for revealing a part of history that too few people are aware of, and for making us think about how the experiences of our ancestors are a part of us, both the bad things that happen to them and the ability to endure and survive. (Also, the memories are the true story of the author's own oma, his grandmother.)
Will is in crisis, his relationship with his wife is unraveling, and he is beginning to question his sanity as he remembers his father's absence and possible breakdown. Only Mieke can answer his questions, and help him to understand the legacy that her experiences have brought to the family. Will his own future children suffer mental illness as well, all because of generational trauma, and will he lose his marriage because of it?
This is a compelling and heartbreaking story. The events of the Hunger Winter are described in stark detail and it is both difficult to believe that humans could inflict such pain and torture and that 8 year old children could survive it. I knew about the starvation in Holland, but this novel brought it into focus as seen through they eyes of a young child. The contemporary parts of the book, told in separate chapters about Will and Mieke, brought up the possibility that the traumas experienced by one's grandparents could carry down through the generations with dire consequences. Both aspects of the book were equally good.
There was a third part of the book that I felt less affection for- the sections of a book that Mieke was translating from the Dutch for a friend. Told by the eels that lived around her town, it had a fairy tale quality that I never quite connected with. It was a "found" text that was thought to have been written by a person in a concentration camp near her town, a place that it was believed Rob's father had been sent when he was captured by the Nazis. While actual eels did figure in Mieke's story, I thought that the fantasy sections could have been skipped. But maybe I need to re-read those parts to truly get the message they were conveying.
All in all I recommend this book for revealing a part of history that too few people are aware of, and for making us think about how the experiences of our ancestors are a part of us, both the bad things that happen to them and the ability to endure and survive. (Also, the memories are the true story of the author's own oma, his grandmother.)
February 20, 2025
3.5 stars. A dual timeline novel. I found the part set in wartime Holland during the Hunger Winter to be very interesting. But the present day scenes were not as compelling.
July 25, 2024
A story of survival in Holland during WWII. The writing is fine but the story line and pacing feel disjointed at times when the eels have the narrative. Not as compelling a read as I had hoped.
I won this arc in a Goodreads giveaway.
I won this arc in a Goodreads giveaway.
September 11, 2024
After 100 pages of 250, I quit. So unusual for me. The story didn't move along to what was promised: a book telling how the people of Holland dealt with a starvation winter during WWII. That was the historical fiction learning experience I was looking for.
In the initial story, the lead character falls on the ice and is in the hospital, a chapter is written by eels, a son and his wife were added with no lead in (and they had side stories about a busted hand from hitting a wall and fertility issues), a initial reading of story the lead character was to translate, flashbacks of a cousin, who wasn't a cousin who believed in fairies and in his father becoming a character in an oriental chest. Wait...what? Disjointed...too many stories and off shoots. Author seemed to have lost his objective.
So bizarre.
In addition, the hardback copy from the library had the most unreadable font and the quality of the paper wasn't great, so letters bleed through from the next page. So difficult to read or focus on the words.
Sorry I wasted my time of 100 pages.
In the initial story, the lead character falls on the ice and is in the hospital, a chapter is written by eels, a son and his wife were added with no lead in (and they had side stories about a busted hand from hitting a wall and fertility issues), a initial reading of story the lead character was to translate, flashbacks of a cousin, who wasn't a cousin who believed in fairies and in his father becoming a character in an oriental chest. Wait...what? Disjointed...too many stories and off shoots. Author seemed to have lost his objective.
So bizarre.
In addition, the hardback copy from the library had the most unreadable font and the quality of the paper wasn't great, so letters bleed through from the next page. So difficult to read or focus on the words.
Sorry I wasted my time of 100 pages.
June 16, 2024
The description and writing of life during WW11 in Holland were heartfelt and well done. The recounting of the hardships, abject hunger, misery, perseverance and determination of families to stay together and survive, were palpable. The explanation how past trauma can actually affect future generations, was interesting and tied in with the character Will. I did not enjoy reading about eels “talking.” Maybe I missed something that the author was trying to convey? Thank you NetGalley and Ecco publishing for standing this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 177 reviews